Little Eric

Our little fighter

Here he is everyone's favourite little kitten Eric. We all love him so much and are rooting for him. We think there is going to be fight between the staff over who wants to adopt him! Cat Carer Emily is particularly taken with him after looking after him for almost every night since he arrived here at the centre.

Little Eric is doing very well after a week of feeling off colour. He has had a poorly tummy and has been on antibiotics. We have been mixing synulox palatable drops in with Eric's milk so that he doesn't realise it's there. The synulox drops have made cats froth at the mouth in the past because of the horrible taste. We decided that mixing it in the with the milk was the best option. 

Eric has even started to walk and explore this week, he really is growing up fast. He is such a sweetheart and he seems to be through the worst of the teething process. Teething has made him restless and he has been finding things to chew on like a baby does for comfort. We can't quite believe that little Eric is three weeks old now. 

We will continue to update you on his weekly progress. 

Brooke

Pyometra Uterine Infection

Followers of the blog will remember Rook and her kittens who came to the centre from Rookley Country Park. Since then we have re-named her Brooke. Her kittens have grown up so fast and are thriving. Brooke and her kittens have now been separated, Brooke has been quite poorly recently. 

We started to notice that Brooke's general condition was deteriorating, she was grumpy, very thin and she had lost coat condition. The vet suspected that Brooke had a conditon called Pyometra Uterine Infection. 

Pyometra is the medical term used to describe an infected uterus. This infection can be open (draining pus from the vagina) or closed (pus is contained in the uterus by a closed cervix).

Pyometra can be a life threatening infection and may even require emergency surgery. A closed pyometra is more of an emergency than an open pyometra, since there is no drainage of pus in a closed pyometra. If left untreated, cats become very ill and some may not survive. With early treatment, about 90 percent of affected cats recover.

Since pyometra is an infection of the uterus, all unspayed cats are susceptible.
 

Symptoms

• Vaginal discharge
• Lethargy
• Lack of appetite
• Depression
• Vomiting
• Diarrhoea
• Drinking excessive amounts of water and urinating often   

Treatment and recovery

The ideal treatment for pyometra is an ovariohysterectomy (spay). Brooke went to the vets this week to be neutered. She has been on a course of anti-biotics and seems to be recovering well. We were lucky that we caught the infection early. This case just proves how vital it is that you get your cats neutered. This infection could have been fatal for Brooke.

Billy

Recovering well

Poor Billy has been recovering from a urine infection this week. He was rushed to the vets last week because he was unable to pass urine. The poor boy has to have a catheter fitted.

Since then he has been on medication and is now on the mend. He is much happier and is passing urine as usual. We are so happy that Billy is feeling better. We will continue to keep you updated on how he is doing over the next few weeks. 

Twiglet Matilda

A little beauty

Regular blog followers will remember Jenny and her kittens. Jenny has five babies and the smallest of the litter (tortie girl) wasn't putting on weight. Last week we made the decision to separate her from mum and her siblings. 

We have named her Twiglet Matilda, yes we are serious! Volunteer Rowan has kindly taken little Twiglet home with her. She is being spoilt with chicken and regular milk feeds. Since being with Rowan she has put on a tremendous amount of weight and is going from strength to strength.

Rowan has said that Twiglet is very much a people person and is quite the little madam. She loves her cuddly toy goat and alligator brothers.

Twiglets siblings are all doing well and are almost fully weaned. Jenny has also fully recovered from her nipple infection.

We will continue to keep you all updated on how little Twiglet Matilda is doing.

Finding a stray cat

 
It’s cold and you find a cat that is looking thin and bedraggled – what do you do? In this extract from The Cat magazine, we explain some of the best ways to find the owner.

 Read the article

e-petition

Make it a legal requirement to report a road accident involving a cat.

Under the Road Traffic Act 1988, section 170, it is a legal requirement to report any road accident which causes damage to any animal which is not on or in the vehicle involved. The definition of 'animal' however does not include cats. Currently only dogs, horses, sheep, cattle, pigs, goats, ass and mules are included. 

New Start Cat Rescue, a Gloucestershire based cat re-homing charity believe that this Act should be amended to include cats. This will ensure that cats hit on the road can be dealt with appropriately and perhaps in some cases, prevent fatalities.

Cats are peoples' possessions, their loving pets and part of the family. We strongly believe that this Act should be amended.

Sign the petition

Little man Eric

Two weeks old

 

Our little man Eric is doing very well. Just look how adorable he looks in this photo. He is now two weeks old and growing fast. Earlier in the week he opened his eyes. He now weighs 240g which is a good weight for a kitten of his age. Hand-reared kittens should gain between 10-15 grams each day. 

Well done little Eric and what a brilliant job mummy Emily has done.